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after it originally closed. Thomas K. Plofchan Jr., a Virginia attorney, adds that the only proven method for a homeowner to secure evidence against a lender is a thorough examination of the mortgage contract. Bradford notes a securitization audit can't provide the level of scrutiny to reveal tortuous conduct or other weaknesses in contracts. Mortgage Fraud Examiners is a project of Sterling, Virginia-based Lex Consulting, LLC. As a public service, MFE encourages homeowners to reach out to the group to learn how to find the true owners of their notes for free. Washington rank: 37 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate RateRate may 2012 4.69%2.11% 8.3% year ago 3.75%2.46% 9.3% percent point change 25.1% -13.9%-10.8% Top County MASON COUNTY 90+ Day Delinquency Rate may 2012 Foreclosure Rate 5.20%3.18% year ago 3.90%3.08% percent point change 33.5%3.1% Top Core-Based Statistical Area LONGVIEW, WA 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate may 2012 4.52%2.39% year ago 3.58%2.63% percent point change 26.2%-9.0% note: The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the May 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary May 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. STAT INSIGHT 2,010 Foreclosure starts in Washington state during the month of June. Source: ForeclosureRadar 108 IN THE NEWS Survey: Experts Agree Market to Hit Bottom in 2013 Experts surveyed by Zillow expect home prices to decline slightly in 2012 and then finally hit bottom in 2013. The Seattle-based company's survey included 114 respondents with backgrounds ranging from economists and real estate experts, to investment and market strategists. Respondents' prediction for home prices is that they will fall 0.4 percent in 2012, and then rise by 1.3 percent in 2013. In 2014, they expect home prices to rise by 2.5 percent, then rise by 3 percent in 2015, and then go up by 3.3 percent in 2016. The survey, which was conducted by Pulsenomics LLC, is based on the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index over the next five years. The average cumulative prediction to 2014 was 3.5 percent. Although prices are expected to move on a positive track, two years ago in June 2010, the average prediction among respondents for cumulative appreciation into 2014 was 10.3 percent. The most optimistic quartile of experts predicted, on average, a 1 percent increase in 2012, and the most pessimistic quartile of respondents expected to see an average decline of 2 percent. "It's good to start to see some convergence of expectations among economists, as it lends further support to the claim that a bottom is real," said Zillow's chief economist Stan Humphries. Not all the gathered data was positive. Most respondents—56 percent—believe the homeownership rate will, in five years, drop below the 65.4 percent rate recorded in the first quarter of 2012. One in five thinks the homeownership rate will soon slip below 63 percent, which would put it below the lowest rate on record since the regular monthly survey was initiated in 1965 and stood at 62.9 percent. "[T]he fact that more than half of respondents believe that the homeownership rate will fall lower should be a sobering reminder that significant challenges remain ahead for the housing market, from negative equity to millions of foreclosed homeowners who now have impaired credit, making a return to homeownership harder than it would be otherwise," Humphries said. HomeStreet Bank Expands Housing Program to Spokane HomeStreet Bank recently announced the extension of its Hometown Home Loan employer-assisted housing program into the greater Spokane area. The Hometown Home Loan Program was created in 1994 to help the city of Seattle make homeownership more affordable for its employees. More than 50 public and private companies and organizations now offer the program throughout Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. Program benefits include free homeownership education, savings on purchases and refinances, and access to down payment assistance. The average person can save between $1,300 and $1,700 in closing costs and fees through the program. Since its creation, nearly 10,000 individuals and families have benefited from a combined savings of more than $12 million. Forty percent of people who purchased homes through the Hometown Home Loan Program were first-time homebuyers. The program partners on a local level with nonprofit community housing organizations that focus on community development and affordable housing solutions. Hometown Home Loan's partner in Spokane is Community Frameworks, an organization that offers affordable housing options, as well as financial fitness and mortgage basics classes. "We really appreciate HomeStreet's approach to creating affordable homeownership opportunities," said Alan Trunnel, deputy director of Community Frameworks. "We feel their emphasis on homeownership education mirrors our goal of creating successful homeowners. In fact, we decided to make this program available to our own employees as well as to our clients." "The Hometown Home Loan Program was originally developed to help employees qualify for home loans in neighborhoods closer to their work, with the goal of reducing traffic and retaining valuable employees," said Andy Slipper, Spokane-area relationship manager for the bank's Affinity Lending program. "Homeownership is important to the health of our city. Through employer-assisted housing, we can help make homeownership more affordable for working people, as well as provide educational resources to help them prepare for homeownership." HomeStreet Bank is one of the largest community banks in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii and has specialized in mortgage lending since 1921.

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